Top Ten Cities for Automotive
Edward Smith

When Henry Ford began his first large-scale production line in 1914, it changed the landscape in the United States – not just in road infrastructure, but the economy as well. The auto industry has long been the lifeblood of many cities and towns across the nation as America led the way in production and innovation. Unfortunately, as globalization redistributes manufacturing centers and more jobs are lost to overseas competition, lackluster profits and diminishing numbers of plants have lead to widespread concern for the future. 

However, many industry leaders have responded to this situation and new cars and technologies have begun emerging. Cities eager for new manufacturing business have begun trying to attract these companies, and some have been quite successful. 

In Outlook’s top 10 cities for automobile manufacturing growth, we took a look at what changes these cities implemented to make the list, what they believe makes for an ideal environment for automotive business, and where this precarious business is headed in the future. (more)

What Brings Automotive Industry to a Community?
Mark Sweeney

The Industry
These are particularly dynamic times in the automotive industry, and this presents new opportunities and new risks in the recruitment of automotive industry investment. As a very globally-focused industry, recent mega-trends are impacting the domestic sphere in new ways.

• The adage of “build it where you sell it” has been the guiding mantra for most automotive firms for some time. However, this strategy is being challenged by the dramatic currency market changes that have put the U.S. dollar in a much weaker position versus other currencies – a position that does not appear to be a brief aberration. Newer players in the market (large firms in India and China for example) seem focused at this point on producing the components and assembling cars in the lowest cost location, regardless of sales markets. (more)